Last night on a Continental EWR -> IAH flight, when we arrived in Houston the flight attendents went through the first class cabin and thanked each of us (by name!) and gave us a handshake. Anyone else encounter this? The guy sitting next to me (I was in 1A) completed his 22nd houston to madrid RT on that flight, i thought perhaps it was out of pity for him, but she continued through the cabin.

Yes this has happened to me before. I think that is may be similar to the "warm nuts" theory... it depends on the FA!

Same thing just happened on CO MKE/IAH when a rather senior FA went thru the plane at the end of the flite thanking each pax for flying CO & wishing each a good holiday season. This is a real class operation & I want to publicly thank DGOLDS for heading me in CO's direction.

A couple of years ago traveling from IAH to Lima, Peru, the pilot came out to personally thank the F/C passengers for traveling on Co.
I suspect that this was due to the fact that the new ambassador to Peru was on board the flight.

knowitall: Good to hear from you and glad you're enjoying CO!

I've been on NW a few times so far and have had pretty good experiences.

BTW I have never had the "Hand shake experience" but I have had many, many fine flights and warm, friendly service from Continental.

[This message has been edited by dgolds (edited 12-24-1999).]

It gets better!

On Thursday (right before christmas) while checking in at the elite/first class counter at Continental in Houston, the CEO/President (Gordon?) of Continental walked by and shook my hand!

Very random. Though he didn't say anything particular to me - he was with a small entrouage shaking the hands of all the continental employees in sight and anyone else who extended a hand.

I met Gordon Bethune on a Sunday morning last March at EWR, he was walking through the terminal greeting CO employees. As a Continental frequent flyer since the CEO of the year days I am truly impressed with what he has done to the airline.

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[This message has been edited by Up&Away (edited 03-25-2000).]

"Worst to First" is the deserved slogan for this outstanding airline.

Another interesting theory; part of our inflight policy used to state that the Flight Service Manager (FSM) was to shake the hand of each F/C customer. Today's policy states that the Lead or ISM extend to each First or Business Class customer a "personalized" greeting/farewell.

I think most of the f/a's don't extend their hand because it seems awkward.

I know that while I am a very outgoing person, I tend to respect everyone's personal space (and I don't think everyone appreciates the handshake). This maybe a incorrect perception on my part, but I'll wait to hear more input from you all.

In the meantime I will try this out on my flights this month -those that I am the lead. I have continued to share the warm nuts theory with all my forward galley colleagues.

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CO757



[This message has been edited by CO757 (edited 01-01-2000).]

CO757,

At the risk of making this sound like a gripe, unless "May I get you something to drink before takeoff" is a personalized greeting, then the vast majority of Lead F/A's do not adhere to that policy.

Please don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of CO and CO Employees. But whether it be a handshake or a simple "Thank you for flying with us today, please enjoy your stay in wherever" personally delivered to each passenger is one of the small touches that tells me that this particular employee really likes or loves thier job.

I would venture a guess that the longer the flight, the better the chances of the Lead or First Class F/A extending a personalized greeting to each FC pax. Could this be due to the fact that Long Haul F/A's have more seniority?

Anyway, I hope no offense is taken to this observation, I would not willingly switch airlines for any price!

CO757,

I'm with CameraGuy on this one. Yes, the first time I saw the handshake thing, I was startled. A part of me was a bit unsure whether or not I felt it was a "personal space violation." However, a personal "thank you, Mr. so-and-so, for choosing Continental today" is a very welcome gesture.

My favorite story about CO's exemplary service came in the early Bethune days. I had just a week prior reached Elite Gold, and was about to do a quick IAH-AUS run, so I was on the first flight of the day. I went to the gate to check in, and was greeted by "Mr. Weiss! We've been waiting for you. Here's your boarding pass." Not even a few entries into the computer...just handed me my first class boarding pass. I thanked the agent, and she replied "We very much appreciate your business. Have a great day!"

Needless to say, I was astonished. I haven't had that experience duplicated yet, but there have been a few that came close.

Being treated as if I really am important to CO is what keeps me coming back.



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Michael
OnePass Platinum

Are you kidding me, that certainly isn't a statement that I would take offense to. My intention for providing that information was to give folks perspective on the company policies. I would like to point out that the personal greeting is only if time permits (i.e. EWR-BOS) and it could also be a farewell.

I think your right, a longer flight certainly enables the crew to become better aquatinted with the customers and thus be more inclined to personalize the closing. I don't think many of my colleagues (including me) follow this policy, regardless of seniority.



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CO757

MWeiss:

I appreciate your additional comments and stories, maybe I'm just jaded after years of doing the personalized greeting when CO wasn't anyones favorite airline. It didn't seem to make a difference then, but maybe it would now and that's why I'll be willing to give it another shot.

I would like to state that as a person with a very difficult last name to pronounce, I won't change my mind on actually using last names. I hate when people (i.e. other f/a's when I've traveled for business) mis-pronounce my last name. I'd rather they just provide excellent service.

I think it is a element in providing excellent service, but it doesn't define the flight (at least it doesn't in my experiences as a customer).

Thanks for the great story and as I said, I'll try to incorporate a personalized farewell on the flights where I'm the lead.

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CO757



[This message has been edited by CO757 (edited 01-01-2000).]

CO757:

I really appreciate your interest and input into this forum.

It is unusual today to be addressed by name when flying in first class. Most of the flight attendends who do give personalized greetings have been working since the good ol' days. I never take offense when my name is mispronounced, I appreciate the sincere efforts of the employees. The personalized greeting doesn't cost anything, takes little time, and should be encouraged, but not required by first class flight attendendents.`